Exercise in your underwear?

I’m all for encouraging women to do kegels (rhymes with bagels), an exercise that strengthens the often neglected muscles of the pelvic floor. But do we really need “Kegel exercise panties?”

The unusual $85 undergarment, called the “pantyO,” is essentially a pair of underwear with an exercise “extension” sewn into the crotch of the panty. The product was developed by Phoenix's Dayna Garrett, a mother of five. I’ll let her explain:

“The panty itself is 100 percent spandex and has no elastic in the legs to fit to your form,” she wrote in an email. “The kegel exercise extension is stationary, one inch in height (as the doctors prescribe) and 100 percent silicone. You put on your PantyO's and insert the extension vaginally. You then contract your muscles down on the extension, hold for up to the count of 10 and then release.”

Cynthia Neville, a physical therapist, pelvic pain expert and director of Women’s Health Services at Brooks Rehabilitation in northeast Florida: “Actually, the idea of having something to squeeze around is sound. Many women have difficulty performing the pelvic floor muscle exercises because of decreased sensation, for example after childbirth, and perhaps because of their anatomy being altered. Having something inserted can be helpful to feel how to contract correctly and to motivate the person to exercise. I have seen these types of devices that also vibrate in certain types of shops.”

Missy Lavender, executive director, Women's Health Foundation: “I bought a pair. Ha! The part you insert isn’t any longer than the cap of a pen, so it doesn’t even get to your inner muscles of your vagina. A man definitely engineered. This was the biggest waste. I’m not feeling the love. Buyer beware.”

Dr. Abbie Roth, an ob-gyn at Northwestern Women’s Health Associates: “OK, I've thought and thought about this. And tried to take this website seriously. I would argue that for many people that could, potentially, really use something like this -- for instance, people who had a few babies vaginally -- might not be able to even feel this. Really. I know of no urogynecologist that has ever recommended anything like this.”